Spray cooling



April 26 1927.

B. R. SAUSEN ET AL SPRAY COOLING Filed Sept. 19. 1921 Patented Apr. 26, 1927.'-

lUNITI-:li STATES BERT E. SA'USEN AND HARRY 1).'BINKS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BINXS SPBlAY EQUIPMENT CO., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

spaar cooLINe.

calientan mea september 1s, 1921. serial ne. 561,742.

In its broad aspects, our invention relates to methods and means for interchanging heat` between a liquid and a gas, and aims to provide simple, compact and highly efective 5 means which will not waste liquid and which will not-be materially influenced by winds, and to employ a novel method of operation for this purpose.

In a more particular aspect, our invention j,

l relates to met ods and means for interchanging heat 'etween a liquid and air, and ,aims to provide a highl eective method and means for accomplis lng such heat interchanging .without the use of blowers or l other auxiliary apparatus for producingv the needed movement of air. provide means whereby the required air movement can readily be produced by the spraying of the li uid, aims to intermin le air with the liqui lspray during both t e ascent and the 'descent of the spray, aims to prevent a wasting of the sprayed liquid, and aims to provide simple means for adjusting the apparatus to varying liquid pressures.

In one of its highly commercial a plications, our invention is articularly a apted for cooling liquids (s uc as the water used in condenser jackets) and aims to provide a compact, easily adjusted and water-saving appreciably affected by the wind if used out of doors. Furthermore, our invention aims to provide a spray .cooling appliance in which air (or other coolin gas is moved forcibly past the spray of Iiqui to cause the saine to intermingle with the spray, in which the rate of movement of the air is reduced during its mingling with the spray to permitof a. thorough intermixing of the air with the -liquid after the latter has been reduced substantially into a fine mist, and aims to produce the required movement of the air entirely by the suction due to the spray of the liquid. Our invention also aims to provide compact, inex ensive and easily erected means for com ining the liquid spray and the air during their intermingling, and for catching the spray of the liquid and feedin the latter back to the source of supply. urthermore, it aims to provide a simple means for effectively adjusting certain portions of the appliance with respect tothespray nozzles so as to adapt the 'appliance It also aims tospray coolingl appliance which will not be for use withl'varying pressures and different liquids, and also aims toprovide liquid- 65 `returning meansarranged for affording an added coolin of the liquid after the latter has been use in the form' of aespray. Still further and more detailed objects will ap pear from the following specification and ou rom the accompanying drawings, in yvhich` Fig. 1 is a central and vertical section through a spray tower embodying our invention. l

Fig. 2 is an enlarged and fragmentary ,'65

-horizontal section through the annular drip an, taken along-the correspondingly numre d line in Fig. 11.' I.. Fig. 3 is a fragmenta elevation showing the adjustable' supporting of the suction 70 collar. l

Fig. 4 is a artly sectioned elevation of another embodiment of our invention, namely one in which an outlet pipe issubstituted for the drip outlets in Fig. 1, and also showing the suction collar as adjusted for 'a wider angle of spray.

Heretofore, the water used in the condensers of mechanical refrigerating plants has commonlyy been cooled b spraying the same into the open air an -utilizing the lower temperature of the air for cooling the Water. The same practice has also been customary in connection with the cooling of the water used in the jackets of transformers and engines. In large installations, the sprays as used for such purposes have been disposed above pools or tanks of water with ample opportunity for'catchi'ng the drip of the spray even in windy weather, but in smaller installations it is not feasible to employ 1pools for this purpose. In such smaller insta ations, it is customary to depend on a trough for catching the spray, and in high winds the spray vis apt .to be blown beyond 9Vl the range of the trough, thereby interfering with the proper returning of the cooled liquid toA thesource of supply and often seriously hampering the operation of the mechanism in connection with which. the spray cooling system is employed.

In one of its importantv aspects, our invention aims to provide an effective substitute for such open airspray systems and one which. will operate with substantially 105 equal effectiveness regardless of vthe. prevail.

l ing winds.

4and spaced-lugs 8 is an annular dri Furthermore, it aims-to provide a spray cooling ap liance which will require a considerably Sina ler amount of floor space for a given capacity than that needed for an' open air spray.

Illustrative kof our invention, Figs. 1 to 4 show an embodiment including a main casing 1 supported b risers 2 which are secured to a floor 3 y flanges 4, these risers being desirably connected to vone another by braces 5 and connected to the'casing 1 both by lugs Gand by adjustable links 7. The casing 1 desirably has its axis vertical and preferably is substantially frusto-conical in shape with the smaller openin at its lower end and its upper end desirab y supports a roof 12 carrying' spaced straps 13 which sup ort a hood 14 after the usual manner o cupola constructions. Underhanging this lower end, and desirabl supported from the latter by a series o smal pan which has its sides extending upwar ly both inside and outside of the casing and whichhas a bore of considerable diameter.

Mounted below the said drip pan is a spray nozzle 10, desirably supported by the ipe 11 which supplies the4 water or other liquid that is to be cooled. This nozzle 10 of a type affording a finely diis desirabl cone spray or so called full vided soli mass spray and is' preferably located at such a distance below the drip pan 9 that the outer edge of the conical spray just clears or touches the top of the inner rim of the drip pan, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

With the parts thus arranged, it'will be Y evident from Fig. 1 that the conical spray roduced by the upward pressure of the iquid will carry air. upwardly with it through the bore of the dri pan, and since fresh air is continuously owed-upwardly in this manner, the spray arrangement wil cause a continuous upward current of air through the casing 1. While passing through the casing, the air is intermingle with particles otl spray which gradually break u into a fine mist and which are further roken into more finely divided par-v ticles by their impact against other portions of the spray and against the interior of the casing: Being heavier than air, the resulting mist gradually descends, part of it falling through the inlet opening of the casing Y intoa lowerjdri pan 15 while other parts.v of the drip run own the sides of the casing` into the annular pan 9. Thus the mist into which the liquid is broken up intermingles with the continuously ascending current of air during both the ascent and the descent ofthe particles of mist, thus effecting an unusual y thorough interchanging of heat between the li uid and the air.

To insure tie desired continuous movewhich houses the initial diverging portion of the spray and 'which extends for some distance below the nozzle 10. This collar 16 is desirably so positioned that the spray just clears its upper or forward edge as shown in Fig. 1, for which purpose we desirably support the suction collar from the casing 1 by straps 17 secured to the collar bg bolts 28 extending through slots 19 in t e said straps Sas shown in Fig. 3). With the suction col ar thus mounted, the approaching of the diverging spray to the top of the collai1v greatly contracts the outlet opening of the collar, thereby reducin the effective size of the air passage throng the collar and greatly increasing the velocit of the air drawn upward through the co lar. The air passing through the annular space between the suction collar and the bore of the annular drip pan 9 does not have its velocity increased to any similar degree, so

that this slower moving portion of the air.

in intermingling with the central air portion and with the spray prevents ythe production of such an air current as would forcibly roject the spray through the openings in t e cupola. However, irregularities in the pressure at which the water is supplied to the nozzle may tend to permit portions of the spray to be carried out' beyond the casing. .To avoid such a wasting of liquid, we may mount a wire screen within the casing and transversely thereof, so as to intercept and break up any large particles of li uid reaching that part of the casing, there y permitting us to employ a shorter and less expensive casing. We may also l equip the cover 12 -with a circumferential trough as shown in Fig. 1, so as to catch any mist which mivht issue from the cupola d and condense on tlie hood 14 or the cover 12, this trough having spaced perforations 18 through which the dripv as thus caught will drain into the interior of the casing.

,In employingsuch a spray cooling tower, the nipple 20 supporting the spray nozzle can be selected of such a length that it will support the nozzle in proper positi'on for permitting the diverglng spray to c ear the inner edge of the annular drip pan, fording one of the adjustments needed ac- 'cording to the construction of the nozzle and the 4pressure at which' liquid is supplied to the same. Then b first loosening the bolts thus af- 28 the suction co lar 16 can be raised or lowered so that its upper ed e also will just be cleared bythe spray. n operation, the effective contraction of the outlet of the collar by the adjacent spray causes the air to increase in velocity as it passes upwardly through the collar and hence insures an adequate suction for forcing. the air entirely through the'casing at a rate adequate for a decided cooling of the spray in spite of the reduction in velocit-y due to the expandin of the air in the relatively large caslng. oreover, the suction through the collar and through theannular inlet surrounding the top ofthe collar appears to lower the temperature of the entering air,'so that we have found this temperature to be lower at the said inlet than outside of the same and still lower within the collar.

We have also found that by thus causing the air to mingle with both the ascending and the descending spray, by laterally confining the spray 'to guard the same against the action of winds, and by breaking up the spray into a fine mist while within the casing, we can secure close to one hundred per cent humidity in the air issuing from the cupola, thus insuring a highly effective exchange in temperature between the air and the water. However, the degree of humidiiication can readily be varied'if desired by raising or lowering the suction collar, and can also be increased to some extent by allowing the annular pa'n 9 to empty into the lower drip pan 15 through perforations iny the former. If this latter plan is employed, the perforations are desirably small and widely spaced so that the Water will drip 4in spaced streams without forming a curtain which might interfere with the desired draft of air. So ailo, these drip perforations are desirably placed near the outer edge of the pan 9'so that the suction of the air will not deflect the drip streams suliciently to cause them to merge.

However, while we have heretofore described tlie appliance of our invention as including certain desirable features, we do not wish to be limited to the same, as the construction and arrangement can obviously be modified in many ways without departing from the spirit of our invention or from the appended claims. For example, Fig. 4 shows another embodiment in which the eaves trough on the roof and the erforations in the annular drippan are omitted, the latter pan being emptied through a drain pipe 21, and also shows both the nozzle and the suction collar raised to correspond to a spray of wider angle. In this embodiment2 the air encounters a minimum of liquid drip before reaching the initial portion of the spray, as the velocity at which the spray issues from the nozzle will not permit any compacted mist to drop through thespray into the bore of the collar, hencethe velocity of the entering air is not impeded by encountering drip streams. Moreover, it will be noted that in each of the illustrated embodiments the wide lateral diverging of the spray. beyond 'the mouth of the annular drip collar will cooperate with the said initial velocit of the spray 'and with the upward flaring o the casingin laterally spreading the mist so that the major portion of the resulting drip is callight in the annular drip. pan.

or do we wish to be limited to the use of our invention in the cooling 'of a liquid by relativel colder air, as the same eneral method andy means could obviously e einployed with equal facility for h eat interchanging between air or other as or vapor) and a relatively col er liquir. In either case, the confining of the spray during the heat interchanging permits us to accomplish the latter in a considerably smaller space than that which would be required in open air spraying, while the movement of the air by suction makes it unnecessary to employ a blower for this purpose.

We claim as our invention l. A spray cooling appliance comprising an upright casing open at its bottom and having a. Ventilating o ening in the' upper portion thereof, upwar ly directed spraying means disposed below the casing, a pair of concentric collars through which the spray is consecutively projected upwardly into the casing, and a drip chamber having the larger oflthe two collars as its inner wall, the casing4 having its bottom opening larger in diameter than the said wall and overhanging the drip chamber.

2. A spray cooling appliance comprisin a casing having an inlet at its bottom and having a Ventilating opening in the upper portion thereof, upwardly directed spraying means dispose below the casing, and a pair of concentric collars through which the spra is projected upwardly into the casing, t e smaller diametered of the two collars being relatively long in proportion to the other collar and extending downwardly beyond the spray outlet o'f the spraying means.

3. A spray cooling appliance comprising an upright casing closed at its top and providedjwith a bottom opening, means disposed below l,the casing for spraying liquid upwardly into the casing, and means for causing the spray to force air upwardly into the casing; the casing having lateral apertures below its top for the exit of air and having a portion disposed below the said apertures and projecting laterally outward for catoliing condensate resulting from spray condensing upon the exterior of the said top, the said projecting portion overhanging a lower port of the casing and havino: apertures through which the said condensate can flow back into the casing.

4. A spray cooling appliance comprising an upright casing open at its lower end and having an upper air outlet; means for spraying` liquid upwardly into the casing through iso the

the said lower end, an annular drip pan underhanging the lower end of the casing, and a suction collar having its upper end disposed between and spaced from both vthe spraying means and the drip pan, the collar bein smallerin diameter than the bore of rip pan. 5. -A s ray cooling appliance comprising an uprig t casing open at its lower end and having an upper air outlet; means for spraying liquid upwardly into the casing through the said lower end, an annular drip pan underhanging the lower end of the casing, and a'sucton collar having its upper end disposed between and spaced from both the spraying means. and the drip pan, the collar being smaller in the drip an, the upper edges of the suctlon collar an of the inner rim of the drip pan being substantially in a conical surface having its apex at the source of the spray. .A

6. A spray cooling appliance comprising an upright casing open at its lower end and having an upper outlet, means for spraying liquid upwardly into. the casing throng the said lower end, an annular drip pan underhanging the lower end of the casing, and a. collarhaving its upper end disposed between and spaced fromboth the spraying means and the drip pan, the spraying means being arranged for projecting the spray of liquid in' the form of a cone passing close diameter than the'bore of to both the u per edge of the collar and the upper edge o the inner rim of the drip pan. 7. A s ray cooling appliance embodying an uprig t casing having an axial openingin its bottom, a spray nozzle arranged for projecting liquid upwardly in a diverging spray coaxial with the casing, through the said' bottom opening into the casing, and.

a collar concentric with the 'said axls and open at both ends and freely-spaced from the-said opening to'permit the entry' of air. therebetween, the nozzle being housed by the collar.

8. A spray coolingappliance embodying an upright casing having an axial opening in its bottom, a spray nozzle arranged for projecting liquid upwardly in a diverging spray coaxial with the casing, through the said bottom opening into the casing, and a collar concentric with the said axis and open at both ends and freelp1 spaced from the said opening to permit t e entry of. air therebetween, t e nozzle being housed by the collar, the collar extending both upwardly and downwardly of the nozzle and having its up r end close to the outer edge of the di'vergmv spray.

ASigned at Chicago, Illinois, September 16th, 1921,

BERT R. SAUSEN. HARRYYD. BINKS. 

